The Saratov Approach

PG-13
Starring: Corbin Allred, Maclain Nelson, Nikita Bogolyubov and Alex Veadov
1 Hour and 47 Minutes

Ok, so this is going to be the most unique movie review that I have ever written. It just so happens that the young man who not only directed but also produced this great movie Mr. Garrett Batty, just happens to be my next door neighbors son! How unbelievable is that? I have also had my own son serve in the mission field so I felt a very personal connection to the movie as well.
This story takes place in Saratov, Russia in 1998. Just a regular day for two young missionaries, Elder Probst and Tuttle as they are out and going with the very best of intentions to visit a young man they had met earlier on a train, to share the message of the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The visit was not at all what they had anticipated! They were quickly apprehended, severely beaten, bound and blindfolded and taken somewhere unbeknownst to them. They ended up in a very cold and dirty building where they were tied up and told that they were being held for ransom! The kidnappers wanted the church to pay $300,000 for their safe return!!! They had absolutely no idea why they had been chosen and they were in complete shock! They were given very little to eat or drink and they were trying with every fiber of their being to figure out what they could do to befriend the kidnappers and ensure their safe release. It was a dark and grueling week for these two young Elders!!! Once word got out that they had been taken, church officials and even President Clinton were trying to negotiate for their safe return. No one wanted to pay the ransom for fear that it would make every missionary a future target. The movie also portrayed the agony of the parents of these two young Elders and the turmoil that they endured. The parents also did not want to negotiate for money for the safety of their sons! They felt that their strong faith and with sincere prayers, their boys would be safely released. Some anonymous donor even offered to pay the ransom, but the parents declined. I found this movie to be riveting and very intriguing!!! It is truly the harrowing story of their safe return and how they themselves befriended the kidnappers and shared their message of Christ and their strong love for him and how it softened the kidnappers hearts!!!
My hat is off to Mr. Garrett Batty, he has done an outstanding job on this movie.
Parents be advised, the kidnapping scene is difficult to watch. It is hard to see these two innocent young men get beaten up and taken against their will.
I am giving "The Saratov Approach" three and a half popcorns.

Gravity

PG-13
Starring: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
1 Hour and 31 Minutes

Wow- what a realistic movie about being pretty much lost in space! Having no experience whatsoever with space travel, I can only imagine how alone and helpless it must feel to float around in space, let alone in a major crisis mode!!!
I can't really discuss too much about this movie without giving away the story, so I will just say that it was truly amazing!
The computer generated graphics were phenomenal!!! It was absolutely incredible how realistic and life-like this movie really is, it is visually stunning! You must see it in 3-D and preferably in I-max.
Sandra Bullock gave the performance of a lifetime and it was an awe-inspiring story of survival and the will to never give up. I found that the subject matter was depressing and sad and lonely. I was hoping for more time with George Clooney.
Parents be advised that there is quite a bit of profanity due to the crisis situation and she also drops the f-bomb once. When she removed her space suit she had super short shorts and somewhat limited clothing on. I am giving "Gravity" three and a half bags of popcorn.

One Direction: This Is Us

PG
Starring: Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan
1Hour and 32 Minutes

This is the story/documentary/concert of five normal lads having the time of their lives! This story truly is a phenomenon.
These four young men from England and one of them from Ireland ranging in ages 18-20 never even knew each other. They each individually auditioned for "The X-Factor" in London in 2010. They were scoped out by (everything he touches turns to gold) Simon Cowell who brought the five of them together to form the pop boy band sensation, "One Direction" and the rest is history, real history! They are even bigger than believe it or not, "The Beatles"!!! Their popularity is so enormous that they sell out wherever they perform and people (mostly teens and pre-teen females) stand in line for days! Just last Friday morning August 23rd, they performed live on "The Today Show" summer concert series and broke the record, they pulled in more people than "The Today Show" summer concert series ever has! People started camping out six days prior to their performance!
This tells their story of how they came from working class families to become the greatest band of all time. It shows video of them each as adorable young children and bits and pieces of  their hometowns and families. It follows along with them as they tour different countries and the reaction of their "Directioners" (a name given to their die-hard fans) as they climb the ladder to super-stardom!
It was both interesting and fascinating to see just how amazing this journey has been for them. It was also fun to see how they interact with each other. They claim that they are all best friends and just how much they truly love and respect one another. They are all so young and free spirited, but it also shares some insight into their personal lives as well.
My favorite part is how they showed the human-side of each of them. The toll and the sacrifice it has taken on their families too!
When I went to screen this movie I really had the pre-conceived notion that this was going to be a "teeny-bopper" movie and I would probably be bored with it. I was not too familiar with the music so that wasn't a draw either. On the contrary, I really enjoyed it. It was very uplifting and just made me feel happy! I can honestly say that I am now "an older" "One Direction" fan, and I actually enjoy a lot of their music now too as well. I just really hope that these five young men will have the guidance and counsel that they need to keep them from the fame monster that seems to destroy so many of our young people today!!!
I would recommend this movie for children nine years and up. Parents be advised that there is some very mild potty humor and they run around shirtless at times.
I am giving "This Is Us" three bags of popcorn.

The Wolverine

PG-13
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen,Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Svetlana Khodchenkova
Total Running Time: 2 Hours and 6 Minutes

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Hugh Jackman starring as "The Wolverine" for his sixth time!!! Hard to believe that he has reprised this role six times. That is the record for any actor!
He finds himself literally holed-up in a prison in Nagasaki, Japan when the atomic bomb goes off. With his amazing super-powers of strength and the ability he has to regenerate himself and never age or get old, he is able to help save the life of a Japanese soldier named Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi).
Years later he is living his life somewhat as a mountain man type keeping a low-profile and agonizing the loss of his beloved Jean (Famke Janssen). He is riddled with guilt over her death, she is always haunting him to please die and be with her.
 He is hunted down and found by Yukio (Rila Fukushima). She insists that he join her on a flight to Tokyo, Japan to meet with Mr. Yashida, who is requesting to meet with him because he is on his death bed and that is his last dying wish.
Wolverine reluctantly agrees, and off they go. He is taken to meet Yasida who is gravely ill. Yashida is shocked to see Wolverine after all of the years that had passed by and Wolverine had not aged at all! Yashida is very old and decrepit. Yashida had become a very rich and powerful man in Japan. He decided to sign over all of his wealth to his grand-daughter Mariko (Tao Okamoto) and by-pass his son Shingen (Hiroyuki Sanada) which really angers him.
Many gangsters and bad guys are trying as hard as they can to find her and kidnap her for her wealth! She and Wolverine pair up and go into hiding to keep her safe. They start to fall for each other and they have a brief bedroom scene.
Wolverine does encounter one villain, Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova). She tempts her victims, then kisses them with her viper tongue and she also has poison breath. She is not very strong in the movie and her character is fairly weak. However, the highlight of the movie was when Wolverine has a fight scene on top of a bullet train. A very high speed and intense scene!
I actually enjoyed The Wolverine. It was better than I had anticipated. The story was stronger and his character was well defined and you really felt his pain and agony.
Parents be advised, this movie is a really hard PG-13. I would not recommend it for anyone under the age of 15. There is a ton of fighting with really intense sci-fi action. There is also some sensuality and sexuality. There is also some profanity and the F-bomb is also dropped.
I am giving "The Wolverine" three bags of popcorn.

The Lone Ranger

PG-13
Starring: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Ruth Wilson, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson and Helena Bonham Carter.
Total Running Time: 2 Hours and 29 Minutes

Okay, so a lot of the main-line critics have raked this movie over the coals! After the screening was over, the audience went crazy in shrills and applause in favor of it. I can honestly say that I really enjoyed this movie. The overall atmosphere was very positive! Granted I did see it in Salt Lake City, and a lot of the movie was filmed here in our beautiful state of Utah! I wasn't quite sure how the story was going to be told, not being a huge fan of the old television or radio series. But, I found the movie to be exciting and entertaining. It was a lot of fun! Maybe it would have pleased more people had it been titled "Tonto and The Lone Ranger", after all, Johnny Depp did steal the show with his unique portrayal of "Tonto" an American Indian.
The movie starts in San Francisco in 1933, as a young boy is in a museum and a really old Indian statue comes to life and tells him a story, which I found to be quite touching.
The story takes place back in the American old West in the 1800's. It stars John Reid/The Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer) as the wholesome and loveable young lawyer who is just returning home from Law School and is eager to find and prosecute bad guys!
 While John is en-route back home via the incomplete Transcontinental Railroad, both Tonto (Johnny  Depp) and the really bad guy outlaw Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) are both being transported on the very same train. As luck would have it, the Cavendish gang hijack the train and set Butch free! The train derails,
 pandemonium breaks loose and all of the passengers are traumatized. Tonto was arrested and put in jail. Young John is enlisted alongside his brother as a Texas Ranger to hunt and capture Butch Cavendish. Things don't go as planned and they are ambushed. Tonto is released and he and John Reid find themselves  together again. Tonto informs Reid that he is now a "spirit walker" (one who has been to the other side),or that he has died and came back. So he must now wear the mask of The Lone Ranger. They find themselves in all kinds of difficult and some funny situations because of Tonto's humor. Overall, they eventually learn to tolerate each other and work together, I liked the interaction between them.. I really enjoyed the beautiful red rock scenery and the action sequences. I found it pretty amazing how they worked with all of the trains. I liked the interaction with the horses as well, HI Ho Silver! I really did enjoy this movie, I think it was interesting and a lot of fun. Parents need to be advised that it is PG-13. There is violence and a short scene in a brothel. In one scene the bad guy eats the heart of a man he has just killed! It was way over the top and super gross! Parents be advised, I would not recommend this movie for anyone under fourteen. I am giving "The Lone Ranger" three bags of popcorn!